Astonishing Black Hole Facts Revealed By Scientists

Study of planets, galaxies and moons is as interesting as it sounds. Over the years, astrophysicists have successfully resolved galactic puzzles like the formation of universe, its expansion, the age of stars, etc. However, the same cannot be said about mankind's knowledge of "black holes."

"How and when the black holes were formed?" "What effect they have on the nearby galaxies?" and "Why do they eat up matter and energy?" are some of the questions that scientists are yet to find definite answers to. Recently, two separate studies on black holes, one by Peter Johansson and his team from the University of Helsinki, and another by Michael Parker and his team of researchers from the University of Cambridge have revealed some hitherto unknown black hole facts that may help in explaining the formation of black holes and their existence.

Johansson and his team conducted simulation experiments to imitate the possible conditions that may lead to the formation of black holes. Scientists have reasons to believe that most black holes are formed when a star "runs out of fuel" and it explodes into a supernova. When this happens, immense amounts of matter and energy are blasted off in the space. However, the dense core of the star collapses under its own weight and forms a void that attracts more matter and energy, thereby forming a black hole, ZME Science reported.

The results obtained from the simulation experiments conducted by Johansson published in the journal Nature Astronomy indicate that formation of black holes needs the presence of extremely large clouds of optimal solar masses and cooling temperatures. It was also proposed that the outbursts of high-energy radiation during the formation of galaxies lead to cooling down of nearby gases, due to splitting of molecular hydrogen present.

On the other hand, Parker and his team studied the IRAS 13224-3809 black hole and found that the plasma winds "streaming away from black holes," often referred to as ultra-fast outflows (UFOs). These are formed when the cool surrounding gas pumps out X-rays. The photons emitted heat up the surrounding wind and presumably form the UFOs, according to Sky and Telescope.

Scientists believe that the new black hole facts will help in understanding the formation of black holes in the primitive space conditions and how they may affect the nearby galaxies in the future.